Alone in this world without
Christ in our life, we are not fully alive, because our spirit is dead in sin (Ephesians
2:1-5). We barely make it and even our
success is hollow and meaningless. Our sinful flesh and our unholy desires
hinder us. When we come to Christ, our humanity dies with Him, and we thrive
through the divinity of Jesus within us. We do not live by the flesh, but by
the direction of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:16,25). There is no need for us to worry about anything because we are
dead and our life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).
Throughout Paul’s life in
Christ, God worked mightily to bring people to salvation and to write many
epistles through Paul, even while he was imprisoned (Acts
16:16-40). No matter how much
tribulation Paul experienced in the flesh, his focus remained on Christ in him (Romans 6;
2 Corinthians 11:23-12:10). Paul
considered the loss of his humanity as trivial, when compared to living in
Christ (Philippians 3:9). We
too are not only in a personal relationship with Christ, but also united with
Him in His death and resurrection (Romans 6:5; 1 Corinthians 6:17). He lives His life through us and instead of us.
When we obsess about any
situation in our life to the point that it disturbs our peace, this situation
blocks our view of Christ in us. We see nothing but negative emotions such as
fear, anger, irritation, depression or jealousy. We are stressed and tense, and
this situation rules our life. If you are overcome by your trials and
tribulation, you are living out of union with Christ. You are not dead in this
area. God gave you this trial to reveal that this issue is still an idol, which
is taking His place in your life. The more you surrender these idols on the
altar of God, the freer your life becomes.
When we step outside of His
will for us, God alone can restore our spirit and soul (Psalm
23:3). Take up Christ’s yoke instead of
your own, because He helps us to optimistically and simply bear all of the
burdens He allows into our life (Matthew 29:29-30). A yoke is the wooden bar placed over the neck of a
pair of animals. It allows them to pull a load together. It unites the two, and
they work as one entity. This is such a beautiful picture of how Christ’s
divine nature, yoked with our humanity, allows us to bear the burdens of life
fluently without missing a step.
God’s uses trials and
tribulation to transform our sinful nature into the character of Christ (2
Corinthians 3:18). As we live and walk
in God’s divine presence within us, the issues of life are no longer
overwhelming to us, because He acts through us in them (John
16:33), as we find comfort under the
shadow of His wings (Psalm 17:8).
God grace and mercy tenderly transport us through every trial and temptation
victoriously. Our humanity is dead to this world and Christ’s divinity takes
supremacy within us (Colossians 3:3).
Prayer:
Lord
Jesus, You invite us to yoke up with You and to permit You to carry our
burdens. We do not crumble under the weight of our circumstances, because we
are yoked as one with You. The closer we
live in this union with You, the more peacefully life transpires for us,
regardless of our circumstances. You set us free from
caring about whatever is bothering us. We die to this concern and it no longer
has power over our life. If we experience a similar trial, we remind our self
that we are dead to this issue. It is no longer a false god or a graven image,
which consumes our time and attention. We experience total freedom in this
area. Now, Satan has less and less to tempt or badger us with in the
future.
Thought
for the Day:
When we follow God’s Spirit
each moment of the day, we live in overwhelming peace and gratitude for all He has done, is doing and will continue to do
for us, in us and through us (Colossians 3:15).